Revenge is Best Served Cold
by angelpixroyale
Summary: After a breakup with Uchiha Sasuke, Sakura wants more than to just cry over her poor, poor loss. She wants revenge, and the one way to do it is to try and date Akasuna Sasori, the most popular guy in school and Sasuke's rival.
1. Chapter 1

**Revenge is Best Served Cold**

**Chapter One**

Revenge. It's such a word. _Rrreee-venge._ Something I wouldn't have even though about a few months ago. Then again, that was when I was all nice and happy with my boyfriend. That was when I was steady and ignorant.

Uchiha Sasuke was _the_ heart-throb of high school. My god, he was perfect. It was also perfect that we were childhood friends and the chances of him asking me out would be a lot greater than him asking Ino, or, gods forbid, _Ami._

Then, that perfect day happened. Sasuke asked _me_ out. Not Ino, not Ami, not anyone. Not anyone but _me. _We stayed steady for a few weeks. Well, I mean, as steady as it could be. He had told me we were going out, occasionally buying flowers or chocolates, but my long-awaited kiss never came.

Last week, I was at his house. I had a box of home-made bento that I wanted to deliver to him personally. I heard him talking with his friends so I hid behind the door. It wasn't really like I wanted to eavesdrop, but I just wanted to surprise Sasuke.

"I can't believe you're actually doing it," Suigetsu Hozuki chuckled. "I guess I have to pay up. Juugo?" As he said it, the pale-haired guy tossed a few twenties on the counter. My eyes got wide. I knew Sasuke was a dangerous guy, but messing with a gang member of the Sound?!

Then I heard his angelic voice again. His words turned my blood ice-cold. "Can I just break up with her now? Sakura is so annoying. Why can't she just take a hint I don't really like her? This bet was the worst dare you ever made, Suigetsu." Sasuke pocketed the twenties and rolled his eyes.

I could feel tears. It had seemed too good to be true. Turns out, it _was_ too good to be true. Sasuke had only asked me out because Suigetsu bribed him to. Whether it was to hurt me or just for the Sound's cruel amusement, it stung. I dropped the box and ran away, not wanting to face him. I knew Sasuke would just laugh at my tears.

So, now it's the last week of Summer Vacation before my junior year. I'm sitting on my bed, a box of tissues by my side, and a pile of crumpled up, soggy tissues everywhere.

A new feeling bubbled up in me. I wasn't just hurt. I was angry. I was… rebellious.

_**Bitch, give that jerk what he deserves!**_

I wanted to make Sasuke feel the same way I had. I wanted to hurt him. I wanted to get my _revenge_.

Immediately I phoned up Temari, expert on guys, and she was at my house in no time. She "tsk"ed at my dead looking hair. In anger, I had cut it. Not just a little cut, either. My bathroom trashcan was full of my pink locks. I sacrificed my long hair for short, choppy ones, remembering in disgust that the only reason I had grown it long was for _him_. She helped me straighten out the devil and I have to say, short hair made me feel better than longer hair.

My dad was more than happy than to let me go with Temari to the mall. I had locked myself in my room for a solid five days and he was eager for me to get some sunlight. Temari steered me straight away from my usual candy pink stores to the ones more her taste.

_**Ooh, girl, get that one!**_ Something in my mind screeched. My head turned to a blood-red tank top with black graffiti letters saying "**DEATH TO LOVE**", and that was exactly what I was feeling. Temari nodded in agreement at my choice. We purchased the top along with some comfortable skinny jeans and red laced boots. My guy consultant instructed me to ditch my pink sweater and skirt.

As I changed in the girls' bathroom, I couldn't help but be disgusted at the shirt I had been wearing.

_Seriously? Furry pink sweater and short pink skirt? What the hell is wrong with me?_

_**I don't know. Mental concussion. Stupidity. Retardance. Uchiha Sasuke.**_

I ignored my inner, more aggressive mind and threw the clothes away. I wasn't sure about using Temari's dad's credit card, but her family was loaded with money and she practically shoved it in my face. We spent the rest of the day throwing out clothes, jewelry, and make-up.

I felt a lot better after watching a hideous pile of pink glitter get discarded in a huge trash bag.

"Wow, I feel like a new person," I exclaimed to Temari, who was smirking in all of her knowingness.

"I know," she said smirkily. "The power of clothing and make-up. Now, let's discuss our strategy."

"Strategy?" I asked, knowing perfectly well what she was talking about.

"Oh, come one, Sakura," Temari said, wrinkling her nose. "That Uchiha bastard lied to you, played with you, and broke your heart. If I didn't know better, I think you would want revenge."

"I do," I admitted.

"You mentioned he was in alliance with the Sound?" Temari questioned. I nodded. "I know exactly how to get back at him."

"How?" I asked.

"Date his brother's friends. The Akatsuki. They're the Sound's worst enemy, and Sasuke hates them. Two birds with one angry stone," she shrugged.

"Temari, are you crazy?!" I screamed. "The Akatsuki?! They're only, like , _the_ most popular guys at school! You think they're going to fall for… this?" I pointed to my forehead, my most insecure part of my body. It was so… _big._

Temari ignored me. "You should probably date Akasuna Sasori. I think Sasuke hates him the most."

"Why?" I asked, my curiosity getting the better of myself.

"I don't know. I guess he just pisses Sasuke off. Try and go out with him."

"I don't know if I can…"

"Just give it a try, babe," Temari encouraged. "And I guarantee you, Sasuke will be wishing he never played with you."

* * *

I walked into homeroom feeling like a new person. I noticed Sasuke was watching me carefully, but I walked right past him. I didn't have time to look at him. I seated myself next to a _gorgeous_ redhead with honey-brown eyes.

Okay, so maybe people would be a _little_ surprised at my change. Instead of wearing pink, sparkle, and glitter, I was wearing red, black, and stripes. Fishnet gloves ran up my arms and combat boots replaced my previous shoes—pink slippers with small pompoms on the toes.

"Everyone, look at the person next to you. That person will be your partner for the rest of the semester, so I hope you found good seats." Kakashi stated. I grinned at my seat partner, who, surprisingly, gave a half-smile before returning drawing in a sketchbook. Sasuke seemed a little annoyed at that.

_**Oh. My. God. Look at that sexy beast! He probably works out! And can you see those gorgeous eyes?! They're like melted chocolate. I could stare at him all day.**_

As a matter of fact, I _was_ staring. He noticed and smirked at me. "Interested?"

I returned with a playful smile, hoping my "cool girl" act wasn't blown by the blush spreading on my cheeks. Sasuke seemed deeply troubled at the two of us smiling and smirking and talking to each other, flirting shamelessly. I didn't care. Honestly, I had had enough of Uchiha for the rest of my life.

"I see you've changed," he noticed.

"Yup," I nodded. "Bastards can really change the way you think about your life. Don't tell me you're an asshole like a certain _Uchiha_. It'd be such a waste…" I let my eyes free to roam his body.

"A lot of people think so, but maybe I can change your mind," he returned. "Mind if I ask which Uchiha?"

"Oh, not very far from here," I said vaguely. "He's probably _listening_ to our conversation right now." Sasuke, sitting in front of me, gave a sharp jolt before pretending to be interested in what Kakashi, the teacher, was saying. "I'm Haruno Sakura."

"Akasuna Sasori," he told me. "Are you free this Friday? Some of my friends and I are throwing a party. Maybe you'd like to join me?" He passed me a slip of paper showing his phone number.

_Oh my god, __**he**__ is Sasori? He's so sexy! _

_**Girl, I know what you're thinking, and…**_

_And?_

_**You're sixteen now, I think state law says you're allowed to lose your virginity.**_

_Inner! Get these mental images out of my head! _

I practically had a nosebleed as explicit images of him and I filled my head. Sasori tilted his head in confusion. "So… are you coming?"

"Sure," I said, grinning. He made the "call me" motion with his fingers. I gave him a thumbs up confirmation, then leaned forward to Sasuke.

"Dear Sasuke, I heard the Sound got beat up by the Akatsuki a few days ago," I informed him. His pencil stopped for a second. "The Akatsuki are, like, _so_ cool. Sound sucks. Oh, do you have a twenty? I need to pay up a friend for a dare." The first two, true. The second, not so true, but would it really be bad to have a little white lie on your conscience?

_**Hell no it wouldn't! Go get that bastard!**_

_What the hell are you, anyways?_

_**I'm a part of you that you created to vent out your anger and frustration for being cheated on by Sasuke. You created me for the sole purpose of keeping in your anger management problems and now you're bipolar. Congrats.**_

_Okay…_

Sasori raised his eyebrow at my declaration that sound was way suckier than Akatsuki. _It's true_, I mouthed to him.

_I know,_ he mouthed back, with an air of self-confidence.

During the transition from first period to second, Sasuke cornered me at my locker. "What the hell are you doing?" he hissed at me.

"What?" I asked innocently.

"_That_," he pointed to Sasori's retreating figure. "Stop flirting with him. You and I are going out."

"Not anymore, Sasu-bear," I told him, using the most embarrassing nickname I could think of. "We are over. I know all about how Suigetsu betted you to go out with me. What makes me disgusted isn't the fact that that happened. I could've accepted it, and maybe forgiven you. What makes me sick is the fact that you hid it from me. Lied to my back and manipulated my feelings for you."

"What are you going to do about it?" Sasuke laughed in a self-arrogant tone.

"Oh, just wait, Duck-ass," I smiled at him, but there wasn't any warmth in it. "I'm going to make you pay. You just need to wait. Let it refrigerate. Revenge, after all, is best served cold." He was so shocked he just watched me as I went to art. Part of me was angry, the other part was proud.

_**That's my girl! Beat his ass!**_

I sashayed away, tossing my new, short hair back. I enjoyed the sounds that my boots made—loud, but not small like shiny pink high heels. They sounded loud and ominous. I liked that. It seemed to match my new personality.

I stormed/sashayed to art class, catching surprised glances. No doubt people were wondering about my new clothes. Maybe it was a lot to take in, but did they really have to _stare_? Some dude wolf-whistled and a few girls hissed at my choice of tomboyish rebellious clothes. I couldn't care less for what they thought.

"W-Wow, Sakura, you s-sure look… different," Hinata stammered. I grinned at her.

"I hope so," I said seriously. "I'd be so angry if people still saw Sakura Haruno, ditzy pink sophomore, in these clothes."

"W-Well, I th-think it's g-g-great that y-you've decided to change y-your personality," Hinata said slowly. "D-Do you have a-art next? I do."

"Yep." I looked at my schedule. "Apparently, with Ms. Mitarashi. I wonder what type of teacher _she_ is."

As it turns out, Ms. Mitarashi was quite the scary teacher. She screamed at a student for opening the windows too much. I think she was drunk. However, she _was_ a pretty good teacher.

"Alright," she muttered, rubbing her eyes. "I'm Ms. Mitarashi, yada yada yada. Split into two groups right now. Lefties for beginners and righties for people who actually know how to draw." She pointed to two separate sides of the room. I had a feeling if the teacher was anybody _but_ Ms. Mitarashi, there would be a lot more people on the right side of the room.

I pulled Hinata along with me to the right side. I was average at drawing, but Hinata was the best. You'd think that she was good only for reading, but Hinata was an _artist_. A life-sized portrait that she had drawn for me on my thirteenth birthday was still on my wall. I noticed Sasori was also in this class. I waved at him and he smirked, before turning to a blonde person next to him.

I squinted my eyes at him. I couldn't tell if it was a guy or a girl. I tried to find an Adam's apple, but couldn't because I was so dang _short,_ so I had to give up and pay attention to our drunk teacher.

She had finished instructing the left people and they started shading the best they could. I noticed that there were some really bad people who looked like they were in the class because their parents forced them. I felt sorry for those people. I saw Naruto Uzumaki struggling with shading in a cylinder. I smiled at him and he returned with a big grin.

"Okay, you guys," Ms. Mitarashi turned to us. "Since you all are more advanced, I'm giving you options. You can paint or sketch, just make sure to clean up after you're done. I'll be going around class to give you pointers, okay?" We all nodded and separated to the supplies cabinet.

I saw Hinata struggling with some watercolor. I carried them for her to a painting easel, and in return she got an extra watercolor palette and a really good paintbrush for me.

Hinata's movements on the paper were long and free. Her pale eyes were unusually serious and her face was blank instead of the usual blush. Soon she had a simple blue outline of a graceful bird.

I turned to my depressingly blank paper. What could I do?

Looking for inspiration, I aimlessly colored the paper until the bottom was covered in blue. I added some pink and purple streaks on top and worked on my ocean. I mean, it _was_ an ocean, right?

Not.

"Hm, that's very pretty, un," someone said. "Maybe, though, you should try making it actually look _real_." I turned around angrily to see the guy Sasori had been talking to. Up close, I could see he was actually pretty hot, but the fact his hair was silkier than mine and he had insulted me got my inner running her mouth out.

_**Fuck his shit up, bitch! Don't let that dumbass get you down! **_Inner then proceeded to do a little conga dance in my head while shouting profanity.

"Oh, I'm sorry ma'am," I said in a high-pitched voice. The only reason my voice was high pitched was because I was fighting down laughter. "Mind showing me some tips?" I let my eyes linger around his chest and made a disbelieving face.

His face scrunched up and turned the same shade as cranberry juice. The teeniest giggle escaped my lips.

"I am not a girl!" he bellowed angrily. I sighed and shook my head.

"I mean, I know some girls don't like to admit their gender, like, they like other females, but you don't have to feel bad about it!" His face, if believable, got even redder and he looked like he was going to burst with anger.

"Deidara, calm down," Sasori cut into our glare-fest. He put a hand on his shoulder and made him back off from me. In frustration, the blonde tried to smack _my_ redheaded hottie, who ducked, and he accidentally spilled paint on himself.

_**Serves him right!**_

"Sasori, you know this chick, un?" Deidara asked, angrily pointing a finger at me. I shoved his hand away from my face, slightly aware that Hinata had stopped painting. Ms. Mitarashi was helping someone on the other side of the room, but if she found out about this…

"She's the girl I was talking to you about. Sakura, Deidara. Deidara, Sakura." I nodded curtly to him. Apparently, Deidara wasn't impressed.

"Are you sure you can come to a party from Akatsuki?" he asked, looking down at me. I bristled. I _hate_ it when people look down on me! "You don't look like much, un."

"Wanna see how _much_ I am, hmm?" I asked, cocking my hips. "I wouldn't be saying that if I were you, somebody who can be confused as a female." Sasori hid a smile and Deidara looked at me, irritated. I smiled cheerfully at him before returning to my painting.

I noticed him stalking off, defeated.

_Cha!_

_**You get him, girl!**_

Though, when I looked at my painting again, it did look sort of faded. Unreal. It didn't pop out to me. "Hey Hinata, can you help me?"

Just because I had stopped my pink doesn't mean I don't like finding peaceful ways to stop things. At least, as peaceful as picking a fight with someone from the Akatsuki is.

* * *

My fingers were trembling as I tapped in the number on the little slip of paper. During school, I had acted strong and fearless. I liked that. But now this was the real test. Calling a guy.

I can't remember the last time I called a guy. I never got the guts to call Sasuke. I was so mean to Naruto before that I had ignored him. No other male held any interest in my mind. I gulped and pressed the call button, and then held the phone to my ear.

_Rrring._

_Rrring._

_Rrring._

After the third ring, a familiar, rich voice sounded out on the other end. "Hello?"

"Uh, hey, Sasori, it's me," I stammered like an idiot. "You wanted me to call you?"

He chuckled from the other line. "I see you're more nervous at home than at school." I didn't know how to respond to that. "Wanna hang out?"

"Today?" I was surprised.

"Yes, today," he said. "Do you have any homework?"

"Uhm, let me check…" I cursed myself. It was the beginning of the school year; of course I wouldn't have homework! Now I'd have to pretend to rummage through my backpack. Dang it.

I counted to five seconds. Looong seconds.

"Yeah, I don't have any homework," I said into the phone. "Where do you wanna meet?"

"There's a new coffee shop down the road near school," he suggested. I envied how easily he could talk to girls. "I'll be waiting for you." Then he dropped the phone.

_Ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod!_ I had a small seizure for a moment before picking myself up from the ground. _I'm hanging out with _the _cutest guy in the world!_

_**Damn, girl, don't gotta frazzle!**_

_Frazzle?_

_**Just… Just shut up, okay?**_

I then remembered I had a time limit. Sasori was probably already waiting for me! I went to the bathroom and after a few seconds of consideration, put on a little bit more mascara and tied my already short hair up into a high ponytail.

"Bye, dad, I'm going out!" I called. Dad hardly looked up, but he muttered something in a somewhat-agreeable tone. I ran out the door and made my way to school, thinking that the coffee shop would be somewhere near there.

I was in such a rush, I wasn't really looking, just running to that direction.

And straight into the group I least wanted to see, the Sound.


	2. Chapter 2

**Revenge is Best Served Cold**

**Chapter Two**

_Oh… crap…_

The people surrounded me, blocking me from the sight of strangers that could help. Shoot. They inched me into a dark alleyway that just so happened to be so conveniently close to where I was.

_**Why the hell does this cliché stuff always happen to us?!**_

One of them, the guy who seemed to be the leader, seemed awfully familiar. Then I realized. Light blue hair, lavender eyes, and a shark-like smile. Suigetsu, the bastard that bet Sasuke to hurt me. His grin was disturbing, showing all of his teeth.

"Look who we have here," he yelled to the rest of the Sound. I recognized scattered faces. Tayuya, Kidomaru, Sakon, and Jirobo, the elite guard of the Sound. I had seen them on newspapers and television before, as major criminals.

_**Oh, great timing, Sakura. **_**Now**_** you choose to remember that they hang around this area.**_

Tayuya, now the scariest female I had ever encountered, pulled on my hair and leered at me evilly. "Don't you know not to hang around here, girl?" she yelled in my face. "You've got really pretty clothes on. I wish _I_ had pretty clothes like that." She ripped off a really nice bracelet of mine and placed it around her own wrist, holding it up high so everyone in the Sound could see.

"Hey… that's mine…" I could barely even hear my own voice. It sounded so pitiful and weak, like how I used to be. That made me angry. Tayuya was ignoring me for now, still laughing along her buddies about the bracelet that she stole from me.

Impulse connected my fist to her face.

Tayuya let out a startled scream before flying away and hitting some of the other members. I stood up. "I _said_, that's MINE!" I shouted at her.

Tayuya glared at me before spitting out blood. A satisfying bruise appeared on her cheek. However, my victory didn't last long.

_Oh my god, what have I done?_

_**You punched a member of the sound, stupid. It was like, two seconds ago. How can you forget?**_

_It was a rhetorical question, Inner!_

_**If you don't want a sarcastic answer, don't ask a stupid question.**_

Tayuya growled at me. "I'm going to make you regret ever doing that!" she yelled. I raised my hands in a flimsy attempt to block her attack when someone grabbed her arm. There were a collective amount of startled gasps.

"Sasori?" I asked, opening my eyes a little. "How did you…"

_**Dayum, boy!**_

The whole alleyway was surrounded with unconscious bodies. I saw a few distant figures running away, and recognized the red hair of Tayuya. That made me feel better.

"Are you okay?" Sasori asked. "Did they hurt you?"

"No, but how did you know I was here?" I asked. He smiled mysteriously but didn't give me an answer. Well, at least, I don't consider what he said an answer.

"It's a secret," he said.

I pouted. "Hey, where did Miss Deidara go?" I asked, looking around. Wasn't he just there? "I swear, I saw blonde hair." Sasori frowned and felt my forehead. "I'm not crazy!"

_**Damn right!**_

_You just made me doubt my statement. Normal people don't have an evil persona that might actually be plotting to kill me._

_**You're making me blush, dear.**_

"I'm not saying you're crazy," he retorted. I rolled my eyes. He totally thought I was crazy. "Anyways, I think I owe you some time." He held out his hand and we linked arms, strolling into the coffee shop.

Sasori bought me a mocha cappuccino and a huge chocolate cupcake. My mouth was watering but just as I was about to sink my teeth in me slid it out of my reach. "Ah ah," he said, shaking his head. "First, tell me why you were involved with the Sound."

I stuck my tongue out at him. "Meanie."

He lifted the chocolate cake and brought it to his mouth slowly.

_Sakura, save us!_ The sprinkles screamed frantically._ You are the chosen one! You must eat us!_

_**You aren't going to really let those poor little sprinkles die, are you? I thought I taught you better, Sakura!**_

"Okay, I'll spill!" I said hastily. I grabbed the poor chocolate cupcake from Sasori's greedy hands and caressed it gently. "It's okay, little sprinkle babies. Sakura will eat you." Then I raped that delicious cake straight out. It was so creamy and soft that I finished the cappuccino in no time, too.

Sasori watched in slight horror once I finished devouring the chocolate cake. After that I guzzled the cappuccino like I was dying of thirst, which I felt like after that spat with the Sound and that horrible girl, Tayuya.

"So…" Sasori said, judging me like the zookeeper judges the rabid animal that was just sent to the zoo by some random, pink haired five year-old…

ZuZu was a dear raccoon.

"Anyways, about the Sound," Sasori started again, "what happened?"

"So, I was, like, walking on the street innocently, and suddenly they are all like 'BAM! WHAM!' And they, like, take me and stuff! And then this totally mean girl Tayuya took my bracelet!" At the mention of my bracelet, I had to look down at my plain-looking right wrist now. That bracelet was pretty.

_**Let us a moment in silence for our terrible loss**_, Inner said solemnly in my head.

Sasori sipped his own drink as he stared off into space, thinking for a bit. I was watching his drink and I guess there was a little evil gleam in my eye because he finished the thing a whole lot faster.

Suddenly, this young-ish woman in her mid-twenties came over to us. "U-Um, excuse me?" she asked. "I know this is intruding on personal space, but did you say that you met the Sound… and got out alive?"

The coffee shop, which had been cheerful and light and happy, was dead silent.

Sasori stood up and took something out from under his collar. A chain necklace. A red cloud charm adorned the simple chain. "Akasuna Sasori of the Akatsuki, ma'am," he said dutifully.

The woman gasped and the barista, a young man probably still in high school, over-poured his coffee.

Many, many tears and thank yous later, we came out of the shop. "Wow," I said, impressed. Sasori was carrying a bouquet of flowers, another mocha cappuccino, a banana smoothie, and a delicious looking cupcake. "Do people always fawn over you when you're in the Akatsuki?" My redheaded hottie shrugged but I noticed him cautiously put away the necklace.

"I guess… The Sound has been the city's worst gang, and ever since the Akatsuki came along and started toning down the crime here, people started liking us more and more." He handed me the cupcake to munch on. "Of course, the mayor can't thank us publicly or do anything for us, since we basically are criminals ourselves by beating up the Sound, but the police are a hell of a lot easier on us."

Sasori started walking in an opposite direction from where I was going. "Hey, where are you going?" I asked, slightly hurt.

"I have something I need to do," Sasori said simply. He selected a sakura blossom from the bouquet and placed it in my hair. "See you at school tomorrow, Cherry."

I guess this is what guys do to seem mysterious, and to make girls like them more. They just leave right in the middle of a date, but compliment them first or something. Like those fortune cookies. I always think there's going to be an awesome prediction in it, and then I get something crappy, like, "_Your imminent future looks very bright_."

It didn't matter to me if this was supposed to seem cool. All I knew was that I had just been rejected, left alone, and duped by Akasuna Sasori.

Damn it.

* * *

The night is silent. Well, nearly silent. If you listen very closely, and if you have perfect hearing, you would be able to listen to a faint sobbing noise of a woman. A car drives up to a dark alleyway. It's shrouded in darkness, but one thing is visible. A dark red, yet bright, cloud outlined with silver is on the car's door to the driver's seat.

They're getting closer to the cries. The people masked in the black of the night are carefully hidden, watching a man's every move as he threatens a woman with a knife. The man gets frustrated with the woman's consistent sobs and raises the knife high in the air.

A hand stops the man's knife from descending down onto the woman. She sees her chances and seizes it, running away, too afraid to look back, but she knew. She knew who her mysterious saviors were.

The man screams a curse and is tackled by a red-haired man. His mouth is covered with a large cloak of black, patterned with dark clouds, but his brown eyes were the emotionless ones of a killer. In just a few seconds the red haired man has the other in a headlock.

"Tell me where your hideout is and maybe I'll decide to spare your life," the red haired man hissed. The other lets out a whimper and an unknown address escapes his lips. The one of the red cloud is satisfied with his answer and turns his back on him.

The other, weaker man stands up slowly, and the back of his shirt is a musical note. He cautiously grabs a sharp rock and runs at the red haired one, screaming.

The alleyway is filled with blood that night, and it isn't the blood of the red cloud.

A car drives up to a foreign place. There is nobody there, or so it may seem. He kicks open the door to a seemingly abandoned warehouse to face a sharp light. He does not flinch, but stares straight at the people in the room.

They are all people wearing the musical note somewhere on their body. Some have it tattooed, others have necklaces or headbands, and some are so dedicated, a wound shows the faint outline of the shape. All of them, however, wear a white shirt with a black musical note on the back.

"I'm looking for a red haired woman," the man stated. "She has brown eyes. Maybe you'd recognize her by a new piece of jewelry she gleaned today." There was some muttering and glares, but people spoke in hushed, yet familiar voices, of such a woman.

"Somebody looking for me?" a loud, haughty voice silences the warehouse. She steps out, eyes raised and arrogant. "Jirobo! Kidomaru! Sakon! We have visitors!" A fat, a tan, and a pale man instantly appear by her side.

The red haired man doesn't move an inch, but under his cloak he has a small dagger drawn.

"I believe you took something of my woman's." He holds up his wrist, and the red haired woman looks at her own. She remembers taking it from a girl, and then… Her eyes get big, but her reflexes are too slow.

The fat man lumbers over to help her, but the cloaked figure kicks him in the stomach with such force he slams into the crowd of people, watching earnestly. The tan one laughs and draws two long whips, both a silvery, misty color. He cracks the whip, only to feel a cold shiver much like the whip on his back when he feels a dagger stuck to his back. He falls from blood-loss.

The cloaked figure does not even need to look up. He throws his dagger and his target is met. The pale haired and faced man did not even have time to scream as the short sword pierces through his stomach.

The red haired man stands on the girl's stomach. He rips off the bracelet.

His work, that night, was done.

* * *

_Buzzzzzzz! Buzzzzzzz!_

"Ugh," I moaned. My hand struggled to reach for my alarm clock. Finally, my fist hit its target and the alarm shut off with a satisfying crack. I yawned loudly and stretched out my arms.

_Huh? Why is everything so… sticky?_

I lifted my arms to find them sunken in a tub of empty ice cream. I groggily read the label and paled. It was Chocolate Chip Vanilla Swirl Vortex, the ultimate comfort food! What had happened yesterday that got me so teared up and distraught that I would resort to _this_?

Oh yeah. Akasuna Sasori duped me right in the middle of our not-really-a-date-but-I-can-pretend-right date. I sighed and looked at my clock. Thank the gods I set my alarm for six every day. It'll take _forever _to wash up.

I dragged myself to my bathroom and notice a note taped to the mirror.

_Good morning, Sakura_

_ I noticed you were feeling unwell yesterday. You drowned yourself in ice cream and I'd thought this would be the first place you would go. To make you feel better, I bought you some of that new make-up… apparently it's called "Mascara". I hope you're well enough to go to school today. I'll be at work._

_XOXO, Dad_

I took a long shower and by the time I was done I blew-dried my pink hair and brushed it the best I could, before tying it up in a loose hair tie. I also realized I was eternally grateful that I had switched from my pink style. I just chose something clean to wear and I was out. I didn't have to worry about matching shoes or anything.

So, even though I had a super super super long shower, I was able to sit back and relax as I drowned myself in syrup, waffles, and whipped cream. I was amazed there was even some whipped cream left, considering whenever I have a food binge I target the cream first.

_**Trashcaaan~**_ Inner sang. I walked over and immediately paled.

"I cannot believe I ate three whole sprays of whipped cream!" I screamed. I looked down at my stomach and realized why I felt so sluggish. I had probably consumed thousands of calories last night. I jiggled my tummy. "I am never going to lose you, aren't I?" I muttered a little angrily.

_**Nope!**_ Inner said cheerfully.

_Who are you talking about? My fat or yourself?_

_**Both.**_

I groaned and slung my backpack around my shoulder before trudging to school. This time I was careful to take the longer route, _away_ from the alleyway.

"S-S-Sakura-san, are you o-okay?" Hinata asked nervously, twiddling her index fingers while she spoke.

"I'm fine," I said. Then my stomach rumbled and I groaned again. Did I mention eating ice cream gives me extreme stomach pains if I eat them late at night? "Then again, maybe not…" I sighed and hit my head against my desk. Hinata watched me nervously, but before she could open her mouth to speak again the bell rang. She reluctantly returned to her seat under the watchful eyes of her step-brother, Neji.

I barely noticed Sasuke sitting down in front of me, or how Sasori waded through a sea of fangirls to sit next to me.

"Sakura? Are you alright?" Sasori asked, a faint hint of worry in his voice. I groaned at him and made a half-yawn, half-meow. I was honestly feeling too sick to answer him. He patted my back comfortingly and covered me up with my striped jacket. Sasori was such a jerky gentleman.

Kakashi's boring, bland tone filled the room once again. More than anything, I wanted to crawl into a hole and die. Or, at least, crawl into a hole a mouth-froth like those crazy raccoons that were on Animal Planet last night.

Art class was basically the same as yesterday, except my ocean actually looked like an ocean with waves and everything. Painting made me happy and calm, forgetting about my stomachache for that period. My calm was like a nice and straight twig, smooth… straight… glide… happy words…

"Wow, Sakura, it actually looks like something now!" somebody remarked scathingly.

The twig bent a little. Irritation… Slightly breaking… Twitch…

"You know, if you added something, I think it could be better…" the voice continued. "Oh, I know! How about… talent?"

I should really start thinking about stronger twigs.

"What the hell do you want, Karin?" I asked angrily, turning towards my arch rival, Karin. Ino and Ami were just when I was infatuated with Sasuke, but Karin _always_ had to be better than me! And not just in school, too! Once, at my birthday, Karin crashed the party by _bribing_ the people at the security door to let her in, and then told everyone there were free cupcakes and juice and video games and a huge bouncy house and a pool at her house! Of course, it doesn't help that Karin's parents are dead rich.

Karin gasped and held her hand over her chest, like she was hurt. "Sakura, is that any way to speak to a fellow classmate?"

"Karin, go away." I growled. "Why can't you just stop being a pompous little bitch all the time and ruin my life?" Hey, my stomach was hurting like hell, I was getting a migraine, and my calm stick was broken in half. You really can't stop this freight train once it's going.

Karin sneered, her pretty little innocent face twisting up into one I had seen from hell. "So, Sakura, I see you and stutter-freak Hinata are getting along. Well, guess what? Sasuke's MINE now. So, ha _ha_!"

I glared right back at her, patting Hinata's back, because she looked like she was about to cry. "I don't even care about Sasuke anymore, Karin. You're just like a trash compactor, anyways. Do you want some of my thrown-away clothes too?!"

Karin hissed at me angrily. She smirked and lifted up a bracelet. I paled, because it was the exact same bracelet that girl, Tayuya, took from me last night. "Do you like my new bracelet, Sakura? A friend gave it to me yesterday."

"That… that's mine," I said weakly.

"No, it's not," Karin replied. "It's on _my_ hand. It's on _my _wrist. I even signed it with a black sharpie, see?" She twisted her arm so that Hinata and I could see that Karin had sloppily crossed out the name Sakura and wrote Karin in cursive.

"Karin, you…" I was so angry I could hardly speak. How dare she!? That bracelet cost ten whole dollars! Ten whole dollars! Plus tax! Tax! "That is MINE!"

Of course, Karin ignored me.

"So, I heard that you and Akasuna Sasori are… hanging out." Karin examined her nails, but a faint hint of anger laced her words. "How?"

"What?" I asked in disbelief.

"I mean, how?" she repeated. "Akasuna Sasori is the cutest guy in school, and he hangs out with _you?_ How is that possible?"

"Um, maybe he doesn't go for ugly hags who cake their faces with make-up?" I retorted. "Or, maybe, he just wanted to hang and nothing happened, and you're just a jealous bitch!"

Karin narrowed her crimson eyes through her crimson rimmed glasses, which, by the way, were slightly tinted in crimson. "You listen here, Haruno," she whispered, "You lay one hand on _anybody_ out of your league, and you're going to regret it. Stay out of our way!"

"I'm sorry?" someone asked. Karin whipped her head around to face Sasori, who, although was wearing a smile, did not look like a smiley person at all. "I was not aware there was an _us._ In fact, who are you?"

"I'm Karin Uzumaki," she said, batting her long eyelashes. "Maybe you've heard of me from my father, who is also the brother of Minato Uzumaki, the famous ex-head of the Uzumaki Corporations?"

Sasori, in his eternal thanks, didn't fall under her spell like a lot of guys did. He simply looked bored. "Please don't ever associate someone like me with the likes of you." Karin's jaw dropped in horror and amazement when he simply cold-turkey turned her down. Then Sasori turned to me. Hinata quickly went back to her painting.

"Sakura, I'm sorry for leaving you yesterday all out of the blue," he said, like a gentleman. "I know that Karin has your bracelet, so I went to get you something else from the exact person who stole it." He pulled out a silver chain bracelet from his pocket. It had three charms on it already, which weren't chain, they were wood. I realized with a shock he must have made them himself, because I really don't think Tayuya of the Sound would have the Chinese character for love, a Sakura blossom, and a cloud as charms on a charm bracelet.

"Sasori…" I was so touched. This was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for me. The best part wasn't the bracelet though. The apology would've been enough. The best part was that Karin had seen someone she had tried to flirt with apologize and give a gift to her rival, right in front of her face.

"Can you forgive me?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer. I could tell, because those chocolate brown eyes were smirking at me again.

"On one condition." I leaned forward and whispered to him. Hinata was such a good friend of mine; she knew what I was going to say. Also, once at a carnival, the fortuneteller told me I was like an open book and easily read.

"Every time you do something lovey-dovey or nice like that to me, do it in front of Karin!"

I could tell he agreed. His eyes were smirking again.

* * *

**Thank you everyone for reviewing! I'll be working on chapter three pronto!**

**-APR**


	3. Chapter 3

**Revenge is Best Served Cold**

**Chapter Three**

**Oops, forgot disclaimer! I do not own Naruto!**

Oh, joy. It just so happens that our high school's gym teacher is the craziest, most hyperactive man in the world.

We were all standing outside, waiting for the gym teacher, and wearing these ridiculous tights made out of stretchy, dark green fabric. I would have to keep in mind to ask the principal to change the Physical Education uniforms. I mean, really? Green tights? Were we doing a ballet unit?

Suddenly, there was a small, green dot in the horizon. I immediately remembered Sasori's warning before we had to part ways because of conflicting schedules (thanks a lot, stupid school!).

"_Sakura, make sure that when you see a green dot, stay as far away as it as possible!" Sasori yelled over the crowd to me. I shrugged, confused, and made my way out to the locker rooms._

I instinctively stepped backwards, and just in time, too. The five or so poor students that decided to get a closer look at the green dot were run over by said green dot, which turned out to be a person.

At first, I regretted him slowing down. Actually, cross that out. I _still_ regret him slowing down.

His face was long with huge prominent cheekbones and a shiny sheen of sweat covering his tanned face. The sweat parted ways around the thick, caterpillar eyebrows of his, and ran down his skin. The teacher's haircut was of a bowl, with not a single hair out of place.

"Hello, youthful students!" His loud bellow of greeting sent spit flecks flying everywhere. I, being a safe distance away, was lucky enough to escape the rain, but "sadly", Karin was right in the middle of it and was sprayed with the gym teacher's spit. Her face got red and angry and nasty, and for a second I felt sorry for the teacher. However, before Karin even had a chance to open her fat mouth, the teacher started screaming again.

"I am Gai! Maito Gai!" Oh my God, his voice was even louder this time!

_**I don't know, I actually sort of like it.**_

_Because you're just as loud as him?_

_**You… You just shut your face, okay?**_

"We shall start the youthful day doing some youthful activities, shall we?" Gai asked, wiggling his eyebrows. "Does anybody have any suggestions?"

"Dodge ball!"

"Volleyball!"

"Lacrosse!"

"Basketball!"

"Soccer!"

"Just plain old rec. time!"

Gai rubbed his shiny chin, pondering the ideas we had thrown at him. "Those are all very youthful ideas, but I have an even _more_ youthful idea! Let's run twenty five laps around the school, and after that we can do push-ups and sit-ups thirty times as a warm up!"

_**HOW THE HELL DO YOU GET RUNNING LAPS AND PUSH UPS AND SIT UPS FROM DODGE BALL, VOLLEYBALL, LACROSSE, BASKETBALL, SOCCER, AND REGULAR FREE TIME?!**_ Inner screamed, absolutely livid.

I suppose I had no choice, though, like most of the other heartbroken kids in the class, because we reluctantly started a jog. The upcoming chill of fall had never been so effective on distracting me as I sniffled at least fifteen times the first five minutes. After about five laps around the _whole, __**entire**_ school, I was getting pretty tired of both the running and Gai's consistent screaming.

"Come on! Faster! Let the youth burn through you in a passionate flame!" Gai shouted. Though, I guess you couldn't say he was entirely useless. He was on his eighth lap, still in ease. In fact, there was a little skip in his step as he jogged around with us. I had a nasty thought that he would be expecting us to run as fast as he had sooner or later.

Only one kid was actually keeping up with Gai, and he looked exactly like him. No, really. They were, like, twins.

_**Ew.**_

_What?_

_**How gross would it be if a high school teacher and a high schooler were actually twins?**_

I had to ponder that and agreed with Inner. That was an absolutely disgusting idea.

Gai might've been harder on me and my average speed, except for the fact I was one of the few girls who were actually running. There was TenTen, who I only know is a transfer student, Ino, who actually wasn't doing so bad at Phys. Ed for once in her life, and a mysterious blue-haired girl whom I knew nothing about, except for the fact she was beating most of the males except for the Gai look-alike, and was really popular.

Meanwhile, still on her _first_ lap was Karin, who wasn't even running. She was walking. _Walking._ She even had the gall to file her nails in boredom and scream insults at anybody who was faster than her. There was a girl who was Choji Akimichi's cousin, and I guess it's genetic or something that they're a little chubbier than the average person, but she's still a really nice person and always works hard. However, Choji's cousin was on lap three, lapping Karin three times, and her fourth time Karin yelled, "Hey, fatty, can you run a little faster? I don't want you to block out the sun."

Choji's cousin's lower lip trembled a little. Okay, that was cruel. I ran up to Karin and pushed her from behind, angry at her harassment. She squealed and landed in the dirt, in front of Sasori, who was in the class we were running in front of. I blushed when I saw him and waved. The red-headed hunk of hottie, _mine_, raised an eyebrow in a half smirk before going back to his classwork, ignoring my little "accident."

"Oh. My. God. Sakura, I can_not_ believe you just did that!" Ino exclaimed, hiding back a giggle. A mutual feeling of Ino and I was that we both hated Karin. We shared a grin but quickly turned away from each other. Man, I wish Ino and I were besties again, like the good old days before douchebag Sasuke came along.

Karin, however, was _not_ laughing. "Sakura, you bitch!" she screamed. I stuck my tongue out at her and sped up, barely suppressing laughter.

Today might not be a good day in terms of classwork, but it was a good day anyhow. It was a good day because I had made Karin agitated! Yay me!

_**Sakura Achievement: Get Karin angry 5 times in one day- 20 percent complete**_

_Cha! Only four more left and I achieve my Sakura Achievement of the day!_

After an excruciating twenty five laps, I started crying.

"Oh my God, Sakura, are you okay?" Tenten asked worriedly.

"No!" I sobbed, rubbing my eyeballs. "I still have thirty push-ups and thirty sit-ups to do… And Rock Lee is already done!" I pointed to the boy with the similar eyebrows and bowl haircut, who was watching me intensely. It was actually really scary.

In an instant, there was a flash of green and Lee was by my side. Next to me, I could see his face to the full extent.

"I am Rock Lee, dear princess!" he shouted, kneeling down. "Do you need some assistance?" Tenten raised an eyebrow. His calloused hands were rough and scratchy against my own. I winced at his overly excited face pushed straight up to mine.

"Um, I'm fine…" I said awkwardly.

Lee, who was _really_ starting to scare me now, jumped up and twirled around before landing on his toes. He blew me three kisses and declared something about love or whatever and then hopped off. I couldn't listen to his declaration too well… I was too busy dodging his kissy faces.

Tenten watched him leave with admiration. "He has such a beautiful pose and body figure," she said dreamily. Then her face got hard. "But I'm still better at ballet."

"Yeah, you sure are, Tenten…" I muttered, bending over just at the last minute to evade one last pair of evil kissy lips.

I didn't notice a pair of nasty, jealous red eyes peeking at me from behind a bush. If I had, I probably would have noticed those eyes followed me around a lot. Maybe, if I had, I could have avoided the accident.

But I'm dumb, and I never did notice.

* * *

Of course, the moment I stepped in that house it was total chaos. The beginning two minutes of Friday night wasn't so bad, though.

My dad parked his car right outside the address, in front of what seemed to be a huge-ass mansion with a humongous porch, yard, and driveway. The driveway, and probably the garage, was already packed full of cars.

"Sakura, honey, are you going to be okay?" my dad asked worriedly, his expert parent ears probably picking up on the loud, blaring metal music coming from said mansion.

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, Dad, I'll be fine. Don't worry about me, okay? Enjoy your Friday night, Dad."

_**All bark no bite. God, girl, your stomach is doing a tap dance!**_

_Oh, shut up, Inner._

_**I don't like it. It doesn't feel nice.**_

_Whatever__**.**_

I hated to admit it, but Inner was actually right. This was, and I would never admit this to anyone, my very first high school party, with guys and beer and partying. And _guys_. I had literally spent the whole night playing dress-up in front of a computer screen, with my school help guru, Temari, at the other end of the screen. In the end, she used her godly forces (and voice) to get me into a striped red and black skirt that went down to mid-thigh and a cotton cardigan with a black tank top underneath. Yes, I was wearing Sasori's gift. Why not? It was pretty.

My dad studied my face for a moment before saying some sort of older-parent, wise saying to himself and driving away. He wasn't worried about picking me up; I had told him a friend (hint, hint, Sasori) would drive me back.

The door swung open and this guy with straight black hair tied in a ponytail and dull red eyes observed me for a while. I gulped. "Um… hi, this is…. Akasuna Sasori's house, right?"

His eyes continued to observe me. There was no sexual violation of privacy, or any hidden meaning. I just felt like I was being examined, and I didn't like it. The guy's eyes glowed brighter for a split second when his eyes landed on my bracelet.

"I am Uchiha Itachi," he said, "one of Sasori's acquaintances and member of the Akatsuki. I have heard… many things from you, Haruno Sakura." His eyes hardened again. "You may enter."

I shuddered at his gaze as I walked across the room. Then I realized something.

_**Holy shit, Uchiha Sasuke's older brother!**_

_Oh my God, Inner, no wonder he's mad at us!_

_**Mad at YOU, not me. He doesn't even know I exist!**_

"Oh, and Sakura," Itachi called, "Tell your Inner self to quiet down, please?"

_**OMYFUQUINGAWD! HE CAN READ OUR MIND!**_

_Inner, shut up! Just calmly walk away, maybe he'll ignore us…_

"If you keep on screaming in your head like that, it's quite impossible to ignore you," Itachi said calmly. I squealed like a little baby and ran down the hallway, getting closer to the blaring music that now was hurting my ears.

"Woah…" I watched, starry-eyed, at the scene in front of me.

The room was packed full of people, like a sardine can. An iPod sat proudly atop a speaker, which was the source of the loud music.

"Excuse me, sorry, oh God, sorry!" I apologized again and again, bumping into people I barely knew. Before I had gotten to Sasori, I had stepped on eight toes, spilled three drinks, and interrupted seventeen make-out sessions.

Then I noticed something weird. It wasn't my darling Sasori, thank God, it was his friend. The womanly male, Deidara. Sasori was watching him with faint amusement as the mess of blonde hair slurred his words, strutting around the room wearing a stupid grin on his face. An empty bottle was sitting on a table near him.

"Oh my God…" I whispered to myself. "Is he drunk?"

Somebody with a high, nasally voice giggled. "Yeah, that's DeiDei-chan, teehee! He's always drunk at Akatsuki parties!" The girl had orange hair that was so bright and bizarre I didn't know if it was dyed or if she was wearing a wig. There was an overdosage of make-up and she, herself, was obviously drunk.

I gulped. "Yeah, great." Was it _normal_ for an under-aged person to be drunk right now?

Then I noticed, a lot of other people were staggering around, talking in cursive. For some reason, smelling all of the alcohol and sweat and this sort of salty-ish, hot scent made my stomach churn in disgust. Suddenly, a sort of brick wall crashed onto me.

_What the hell am I doing here? This isn't just bad, it's illegal! Half the people here are drunk and the other half are about to get drunk! Why the hell did I even accept Sasori's invitation? I shouldn't have made this decision! _Images and scenes of accidents flashed through my head.

_**Shh! Girl, just calm down! Slowly inch towards the door…. Slowly….**_

Someone grabbed my arm and forced me to turn away from the hallway. "Where are you going, baby?" a drunk dude moaned. He obviously had one too many bottles and was probably permanently damaged in the head from an over-dosage of alcohol. He breathed on me and I wrinkled my nose in disgust.

"Ew, get away from me, you freak!" I yelled, struggling. Why wasn't anybody helping? They were all doing their own things, like this was natural. Some were even watching the scene, laughing.

"Come on Pinky don't be like that."

I paused. Stared him dead on in the eye. "What the hell did you just call me?" I bent my right leg back as far as I could. "SHANARO!"

The drunkard yelled in shock and pain as my foot made contact with his lower regions. "NOBODY EVER CALLS ME PINKY, YOU DUMB SHIT!" I screamed in his face.

_**You go girl!**_

There was a clapping sound, and I turned around, ready to fire my super awesome mega power groin kicking leg again, when I came face to face with Sasori. "Nice, Sakura," he said, smiling. "Remind me never to call you Pinky."

My face was flaming red. _Oh, God, what is he thinking right now? Is he disgusted at me? Oh my gosh what the heck super awesome mega power groin kicking leg! You just ruined my first ever chances of getting a real boyfriend!_

"I have to thank you, though," he said again, his mouth curling in distaste. "That wasn't somebody invited to our party. Probably a random person, or a Sound member." He leaned down at the unconscious person and scoffed. "Definitely Sound."

"Um, yeah…" I said awkwardly.

_Thank you, super awesome mega power groin kicking leg!_

"I'm sorry about the scene, Sakura," Sasori apologized sincerely. "Deidara messed up the invites again, along with the choice of drinks. Do you want to go upstairs where it's much quieter?"

"Uh, yeah, sure," I smiled weakly.

Sasori was right, upstairs was a lot more silent. It was also a lot more beautiful. There were scented candles that let out fumes that weren't too strong but also extremely noticeable during the change from downstairs to here. "This is my floor. Unfortunately, I got the floor right above the ground floor, where all of the partying is."

"Y-Y-Your _floor_?!" I squealed.

"Yes," Sasori clarified. "Each member of the Akatsuki has their own floor. I guess you could say this is our 'base', funded by the former members of Akatsuki, and, of course, our own money."

"Well, since we're alone…" I muttered, "I need to ask you something."

"Sure, wait…" a ringing sound pierced the awkward silence. "Ugh, who is it now? Unknown caller?" He pressed the answer key and held up the phone. Some inconsistent chatter, a pause, and the guy who I was about to ask to be my boyfriend paled.

An explosion rang out, clear as bells, in a southern direction.

"Oh my God…" My eyes widened in horror at the scene outside the window. "That place… Is where I live!"

A firecracker whistled from the explosion, and a firework exploded in the shape of a musical note. Fire burned and suddenly the happy and drunk chatter downstairs changed to screams of terror.

Sasori swore loudly and raced downstairs. "Sakura, whatever you do, stay here." He told me. Police sirens drowned out all further directions coming from him, but from the upstairs window I saw a car race off to my house.

* * *

**And…. That's the ending of this chapter!**

**Thank you everyone who reviewed! I love you guys! :D**

**-APR**


	4. Chapter 4

**Revenge is Best Served Cold**

**Chapter Four**

**Unfortunately, my computer crashed… TT^TT… NOW I HAVE TO FRIKIN' RETYPE EVERYTHING! GOSH… GOSH DARN! **

"Luckily, your father was able to escape worse injuries that could've occurred in the fire. It was a good thing the fire department had arrived at your house so quickly, too. So actually, you're pretty fortunate, Miss Haruno," a nurse told me cheerfully.

I didn't see anything cheerful about it. Fortunate would be avoiding that stupid fire completely. I heard my voice, hoarse and dry, make out a small reply. "Thanks."

The room my dad was "kept in", as the nurse told me, was small and orderly. My dad himself was dressed in some sort of mint blue green, whatever the hell the color was, robe, and lay on a little hospital bed. He had at least ten different bandages, varying in size, all around his body. There was a small plate of unidentifiable, grey-brown mush gathering mold next to his bed.

"Hey Sakura," he smiled when he saw me come in.

"Hi Dad," I greeted, with a smile somewhat on my face. "How are you feeling?"

"Well, I'm alright, aside from the fact that it's a little hot in here," he said, chuckling. I rolled my eyes at his lame joke.

_**At least he's still making jokes.**_

_Yeah, but seriously? That had to be the most stupid joke of all time. That isn't even classified as a joke anymore!_

_**You have really fucked up priorities. I can't believe you're angry over the quality of a joke over your dad's health.**_

_Shut up…_

"The hospital people said that I'm going to have to stay here for at least another week," Dad said suddenly, after watching his grey goop dissolve and disintegrate for a few minutes. "Do you have a friend's apartment you can stay at for the week, or should I…?"

Suddenly my phone started ringing. I pulled it out, trying to act cool and swift, and proceeded to drop my phone onto the hard linoleum floors of the hospital.

_**Nice going, Sakura.**_

My dad shook his head as I fumbled with the now slightly cracked phone. It was only a little scratch, and I smudged it away. I got a quick glance at the caller I.D. before the ringing ended.

_Subaku no Temari_

"Hm? Why would she be calling?" I redialed my Best Friend and Practically a Sister to Me.

"GIRL!" Temari screamed in my face. "I'm visiting!"

Okay, look. I'm one of those people who, when faced with our mortal enemy, Sadness, will cling onto anything happy and sunshiny. And when I say "cling on", I really mean it.

"Oh my god, REALLY?" I silently squealed, jumping up and down a little.

"YES, girl!" Temari answered. "I'm staying at my brother's house for a while. You know, the _huge_ one next to the _other _huge one? So, if it's alright with your dad, you wanna hang out?"

"You mean, like, a sleepover?"

"Yes, for a week! I'm leaving for college again next Saturday."

_**WTF!? How can the earth's timing be so perfect? Our dad is released from the hospital next Saturday! This is so fanfiction-y, I don't even know where to begin with…**_

_Inner, shut up! Gosh, have you been watching anime again? Besides, it's not like our very lives are in the hands of some random, weirdo person right now, and is being documented and changed right now! _

"Who is it, honey?" my dad asked.

"Oh, it's Temari," I said, turning around. "She wants to invite me to a week-long, um, _play date_, with her brother, since she's coming back from college."

My dad winced. Not like I blame him, though. If I was my own parent, I'd probably be suspicious too. After all, it was Temari who

**A.) "Accidently" set her ex-boyfriend's house on fire**

**B.) Ripped the arms off her stuffed dolls and proceeded to give them to my father for Christmas**

And

**C.) Beat up ten adults in a rampage over not being able to have a chocolate smoothie with strawberries at the age of nine**

So, my dad had perfect reasons for doubting my safety. In fact, sometimes I wonder why I hang out with Temari, until I realize that we're both crazy and the world is going to burn sooner or later so we might as well become insane-buddies or something.

"Well…" My dad started to protest.

"Dad, I don't have any other friends." I said seriously, because it was true. Well, unless you counted Sasori as a friend and I seriously _don't _want that, because getting friend-zoned sucks.

"Well, I guess I can trust Temari to keep an eye on you," he finally said, after pondering the choices of me either being homeless or sharing a home with a psycho-maniac. "And vice versa." He added.

"Thank you!" I yelled, hugging him. "Temari, he said yes!" I screamed into my phone.

"Awesome!" Temari screamed back. "I'll pick you up at your house! Pack your clothes and stuff!"

I paled, and a sick feeling returned to my stomach. Dread. "Temari, uh, something happened yesterday, and I don't think I can meet you at my house…" I told her about everything. The Sound, Sasori, the party, and the explosion.

Temari was silent for a couple minutes. I started getting worried that she had hung up on me when she spoke again. "Babe, I'm meeting you outside the hospital."

My dad watched me warily. "Sakura, are you okay…?"

I managed to grin. I'm known for being very optimistic. "Yeah, I'm fine. I guess… I'm still pretty shocked, you know? Well, I'll visit you again later today, okay?"

He nodded and immediately fell asleep. Poor dad.

I headed outside to wait for Temari. Soon, a sleek and shiny BMW M3 pulled up over the curb. Temari unlocked the door and I hopped in, eager to see my friend. As soon as I got in, the tears started to fall. My awesome BFF stayed silent, save for the occasional comforting phrase, as I spilled everything out. We pulled over at a McDonalds and Temari drove by the Drive-Thru.

"I want two McCafe Frappe Chocolate Chips." Temari ordered my favorite comfort drink, next to melted chocolate, to the speaker box. "Pronto."

"Um, I'm sorry miss, we're out of stock for cream." A just-hit-puberty sounding male voice apologized falsely. "So, currently, we're out of McCafe menu items. Is there anything else you would like?"

Temari gripped the wheel. "Look, buddy." She said in her no-nonsense, I-want-this-right-now voice. "My friend just fucking lost her goddamn house and all of her belongings in a fire that was started by the Sound, and I personally know that when you are out of stock of cream, you're actually hoarding it in the freezer so you can eat out of the cans later at lunch, fatty. So, let me repeat what I want. Two. Goddamn. McCafe. Frappe. Chocolate. Chips!"

The cashier squealed in fright. "Y-Yes ma'am!" he said like a little baby. I think he even went to personally make it himself, in fear that if it was less than perfect Temari would haunt him down to hell.

We drove on to the pick-up window, where we saw a fat teenaged boy with acne and braces looking nervous as someone who's dealing with a time bomb. "Y-Your order costs…" he met Temari's glare and squealed again. "It's on the house!" He said immediately. "I-In fact, here you go now!" he hastily handed Temari two delicious looking drinks, with healthy globs of whipped cream in each cup, and quickly ran away from our sight.

Temari clicked her tongue in annoyance and drove away from McDonalds. The creamy cold drink calmed my senses and allowed me to breathe a lot more easily.

"God… whipped cream… hoarders…" I heard Temari mutter angrily. Her voice took on a much gentler tone. "Sakura, are you okay?"

I sighed. "Yeah, I'm fine." I muttered, rubbing my forehead. Gosh, so many things were happening so fast.

_I couldn't remember anything after that. I remembered seeing an amber-eyed, blue-haired girl hugging me as I sobbed into my hands, but after that everything was bleak and black. _

_When I woke up, I was in an average-sized bed. Sasori told me his friend told him that I had collapsed onto the ground and fainted, probably from the overwhelming sensation of everything happening. He asked me if I had wanted go visit the house again, but I'm ashamed to say that I acted rather coldly towards him. _

_I don't know, I just thought that maybe… The reason the Sound attacked my house was because of my relationship, or non-existent relationship, with Sasori, who was in the better gang, Akatsuki. Of course, this wasn't his fault at all, but I wanted to blame someone for possibly trying to kill me and Sasori was the only person in the room with me._

"_Leave me alone," I said harshly, in a rough and scratchy tone I recognized to be the aftermath of crying one's eyes out. "I want to go see my dad." My voice probably surprised me more than Sasori, who just nodded understandingly before telling me that he was going to wait downstairs for me._

_How the hell could I be so rude? Remorse and regret filled me, but at the time I was so angry I had a crazy thought that someone was _making _me feel this way, almost like someone was twisting my thoughts and making me turn on Sasori._

_Of course, this is impossible. Somewhere in my chaotic, hazy mind, I remembered the old fairy tale my mother used to tell me. A group of fearless knights spreading kindness and justice to the fair princess and her kingdom using the magical weapon Chakra. Now that I think about it, a little bit of that magical __**chakra**__ would certainly help me._

_Just a little bit of restoration "jutsu" and BOO-YAH! Home and sanity fixed!_

I started to laugh. "Actually, I'm feeling really well." I said, smiling. "Thanks, Temari."

My best friend forever stared at me nervously before returning my grin with her own. "Good." She said, smirking. "Come on; let me show you the place I'm staying at. I heard Gaara and Kankuro got the place fixed up."

I nodded. I had noticed a lot of construction sounds from the richer sides of town during summer and late into school last year. It was probably the Suna family reconstructing their already ginormous house.

We drove on for a few minutes. "You know," Temari said suddenly as we were waiting for a stoplight to turn green, "since you lost all of your clothes, I guess we could go shopping again…"

I'm so lucky to have a friend like Temari.

* * *

"Oh damn," I whispered, looking at the completely new house. I looked at Temari, who was smirking. "Aren't you surprised too? This is your first time seeing it too, right?"

Temari smiled evilly. "I was the one who told my bros to fix it up." She confessed. I should have known.

Before, the house had been a beige color. It had been an old 1800s Victorian styled house, I believe. It had huge towers and spiky gates that scared me before. All in all, if the Sunas died in that house, it would easily become one of those houses with the creepy legends of ghosts haunting whoever stepped foot in.

Now, it was a Modern styled home. The walls were painted white and the paint actually looked like it wouldn't peel off and rot away. The roofs had been changed from tall, tilting boards to straight, horizontal boards, lathered generously with black paint that made the whole house shimmer. Steps led up to the front door, huge double doors that looked like they were made from iron. Wouldn't that be hot? Marble walls surrounded the porch and the balconies on the top floors. Most of the walls were glass. Too bad the iron gates didn't change.

Temari laughed at my startled expression. "Wait 'till you see the pools."

"P-P-Pool_s_?!" I stuttered. "As in, _plural_?!"

Temari giggled evilly. "Step right in."

The inside was even more beautiful than the outside. Creepy, musty couches filled with sand (yes, I broke one apart before and ever since then Mr. Suna never trusted me again) were replaced with plush couches shaped like Cs. They surrounded a giant rug that looked oh-so-soft. The rug had the Suna company logo on it, an hourglass.

A small bookcase filled one side of the room, next to a huge flat-screen Hi-Definition T.V. A huge and intricately shaped winding staircase disappeared into a hole in the ceiling. If I peered through the hole, I could see it going through many floors.

Yes, the first thing I did when I walked in was not admire the new furniture, or marvel at the sudden change.

"PENGUIN!" I screeched, slamming my body on the floor and sliding off, letting momentum do the rest of my work for me. I crashed into the couch and grinned. Penguining, a sport invented by some random kindergartener back in the days, was the pastime for all of us when we used the gym. The rules were simple; screech the word Penguin, fall to the floor, and slide. The person who did the most spectacular crash won popularity at the cool side of the snack table, and was honored as the person who got first pick at the snack box available for the kids who _hadn't _brought snacks to school.** (FRIENDLY REMINDER- PLEASE, PLEASE, **_**PLEASE**_** DO NOT TRY PENGUINING AT HOME! IN FACT, DON'T DO IT ANYWHERE UNLESS YOU ARE WILLING TO GET SEVERE FLOOR-BURNS AND WALL-CRASHES! Thank you!)**

Temari laughed at me/with me. "Come on, lil' sis," she said, using my special nickname, "Let me give you a tour of the rest of the house." I was about to ask how she knew how to navigate through the house when she showed me a rolled up piece of paper. She unrolled it and revealed a detailed map of the entire house, along with intricate details and how-to-get-from-here-to-there keys.

"Holy shit, your brothers really thought this through, huh?" I muttered, looking at the small notes covered on each page.

_The floors are squeaky here so sneaking around won't be easy._

_Neighbors won't shut up every Friday night, and can be heard especially loudly here._

_The kitchen makes weird grumbling noises when you wash the dishes._

I smiled. I don't remember Kankuro very much, but he was a nice older brother and never really got in my way, under Temari's watchful eyes, of course. There was that one time I dropped my ice cream cone on the floor, though, and he pulled a big-brother move and bought me another one. Then again, there was also that one time he broke my Barbie.

My ninja turtles need bitches! He broke Michelangelo's bitch!

Suddenly, there was an irritated noise coming from the winded stairs. Well, speak of the devil. Or think of the devil, in this case. There was Kankuro, in all of his Barbie-breaking goodness.

"Argh, Temari, it's too early for all this noise…" he moaned. Suddenly, his eyes got big and wide and horrified. "Oh FUCK, TEMARI! You're back!" He screamed in terror.

"Come here, little bro," Temari said impatiently, opening her arms for a hug. Kankuro's left eye twitched, and he hesitantly made his way down the stairs and closer to Temari. "Come on." She said, irritated.

Kankuro eventually held out his own arms and they hugged for a split second. Then Temari grabbed his shoulders and tossed him upside down, and he crashed into the floor.

"OW! TEMARI, WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?!" Kankuro screamed in anger. Temari smacked his face.

"That's for swearing, little bro." Temari said affectionately. I don't know whether to be amused that my best friend just flipped my best friend's little brother over, or to be scared that she was scolding him in such a motherly voice.

"Um, Temari, YOU SWEAR MORE THAN ME!" Kankuro yelled again. Then he noticed me. "Oh, hey Sakura."

"Hi Kankuro." I greeted back, giving him a fist-bump.

It was okay, because after Kankuro broke my Barbie, Temari made him buy me another one, and now he holds a good amount of respect and fear for me.

Kankuro stood up and glared at Temari. "Sh! Gaara is still sleeping!" Temari stiffened visibly and gulped.

There wasn't much that could make Temari shiver. She gladly tore spiders apart, while I cowered in fear. She would proudly do dives and bungee jumps from impossible heights, while I would immediately give in and admit my cowardice. She would even step on a Lego, something even the bravest ninjas wouldn't dare do (She actually _did _step on a Lego once, and bravely held back her tears as blood leaked from her foot).

However, there _are _a few things in this world that bring even the mightiest like Temari to get nervous. One of those things is Gaara Subaku, Temari's little brother and the youngest (and in my eyes, most deadly) sibling of the Subaku family.

"Sakura, let's be a little more quiet, huh?" Temari whispered, grinning nervously. I nodded very slowly. I hadn't ever spoken to the beast, but he was very quiet and sullen.

"Too late," a new voice growled. Kankuro shrieked and hid behind on of the U-shaped couches.

"G-Gaara…" Temari stammered. "Good morning!"

Gaara looked at Temari, just watching her, for a solid minute before turning and ascending up the stairs. His green eyes were completely blank. I wonder if he has any emotions.

"Aaaanyways, let's continue, shall we?" Temari asked awkwardly.

"Okay." I said, smiling.

Temari turned to Kankuro. "Little Bro!"

"Yes Ma'am!"

"Make us some omelets!"

"Yes Ma'am!"

Then Temari linked arms with me and we skipped up the stairs.

* * *

I moaned in pain. My whole body ached in pain. Temari squirted some more medicinal goodness onto another bruise and slipped a Band-Aid. She patted it a bit and then started working on the bruise on my arm.

Okay, skipping up winding staircases while linking arms with someone is not a good idea. Especially if you decide to run up the last few steps and then accidentally trip and fall through the small hole in the middle of the staircase.

Thank God Kankuro was still making omelets. He caught me just before I hit the floor and helped get squirmed through the hole and back onto the staircase. By then my whole body was covered in minor injuries that stung like hell, and now Temari was bandaging me.

"Ow, ow, OW!" I mumbled as Temari smacked me a little more forcefully as she applied the last Band-Aid.

"That's for getting the stupid idea of running up the stairs," Temari chuckled.

What a horrible friend! I didn't even hear her gasp in alarm or scream in terror as I fell to my doom. I think she even hid a laugh! My gosh, this is what I get for making friends with a psychopath.

_**Yeah, you should have better friends, Sakura.**_

_Hush. You are a psychopath yourself._

…

_Mm-hmm, not denying it, huh, you psychopath?_

After that Inner started laughing really loudly and she was scaring me, so I got out of my brain in fear of getting taken over.

One of my worst fears is the fact that one day, Inner might possess me and she'll use my body to become a serial-murderer and also a criminal. I mean, she _is _a part of me, right?

"You're all done," Temari said finally. She gave me one more pat and helped me down the stairs. This time, she held onto the collar of my neck as we made our way from the third floor, where all the medicine and books were supplied, to the first floor, where Kankuro had just finished ladling a final omelet onto a pink plate like I didn't just almost die and break my neck.

"Breakfast," he said, handing me the pink plate with a matching pink fork and Temari a yellow plate with a matching yellow fork. The omelets smelled delicious, but before I could eat it I needed to ask Kankuro something.

"Hey, Kankuro," I said. He looked up from his black plate and matching black spoon, looking a little disappointed at being separated from his protein-high goodness. "Why would you have a pink plate that has a dancing bunny, anyways?"

Kankuro blushed and coughed nervously. "Um, I don't… I got it for you." He said lamely.

"Does this have anything to do with the Puri Puri Star Pudding doll I found hiding under your bed when you were twelve?" I inquired suspiciously. Puri Puri Star Pudding was a famous brand who's mascot was a fuzzy pink dancing bunny. Now that I think of it, these utensils and plates were _also _Puri Puri Brand!

Temari burst out laughing. "He has a collection!" she gasped in between chortles. "Puri Turtle, Puri Girl, Puri Fruit, and even a hand-made Puri Kankuro!"

Kankuro yelled in surprise at his sister's betrayal at his "secret". Did he really think he could keep it away from me? I had discovered his secret about ten years ago, when I was six years old. However, _he _didn't know I know, and watching his usually stoic face turn seven bright shades of red was highly amusing and funny as hell.

"It's okay, Kankuro," I said reassuringly, patting his painted hand, "we all have hobbies."

Kankuro then stood up angrily. "I'm going to eat in my room!" He announced, trying to hide his blush. He then took his plate and fork and ran up the stairs. He obviously had more practice. It's not like I was jealous that he didn't fall, or anything…

"Make sure you have enough for your Puri Doll Collection!" Temari called, laughing hysterically. Kankuro swore loudly as his footsteps got softer and softer as he ascended the stairs.

"Kankuro is a really weird person, huh?" I asked, taking a bite out of my ham and cheese omelet. "Oh my god, this is delicious!" The ham was perfectly salted, and the cheese melted right in my mouth. The egg was so subtle, yet so defined.

I wolfed down the rest of the omelets. I was going to yell up the stairs to Kankuro that his cooking was amazing, but then I realized that that might be demeaning to his man-pride. Besides, Gaara was always a risk factor you had to keep in mind.

I suddenly noticed, after patting my satisfied stomach, that Temari was staring at me intensely. "What?" I asked.

"So… when am I going to meet this guy of yours?" Temari asked slyly, smirking. I immediately turned fifty shades of red, just like that book… Was it Fifty Shades of Green? Blue? I forgot, but a lot of kids at school were reading it. I even saw Kakashi, the English teacher, reading it, and he seemed _really _interested.

"Um, well…" I muttered awkwardly.

Suddenly, my slightly broken phone rang out. I quickly took it out of my pocket.

I paled. It was Sasori.

WHY THE HELL WAS HIS TIMING SO DAMN PERFECT?!

**End! :D**


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